The National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (NMRFAM) is a site where the frontiers of the biomolecular NMR field are being expanded through resource technology development programs in the important areas of (1) fast data collection and automated data analysis, (2) technology for larger proteins and complexes, (3) investigations of metal-containing (paramagnetic) proteins, (4) dynamics of macromolecules, and (5) structure-function investigation of RNA molecules and their complexes with metal ions and proteins. By pursuing its innovative research technology development activities, and by applying them to collaborative projects of biological importance, NMRFAM strives to be a model for demonstrating the future capabilities of the biomolecular NMR field. NMRFAM offers start-to-finish support for biomedical NMR investigations. As needed, NMRFAM will lend support to one or more of the following steps: (1) strategy evaluation, (2) sample preparaton, (3) feasibility studies, (4) data collection, and (5) data analysis and structure determination. Our aim is to facilitate the efficient pursuit of new knowledge, by providing researchers with resources matched to their particular needs. NMRFAM provides young investigators and experienced spectroscopists access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, with support for multiple modes of data collection. Protocols, pulse sequences, and software tools, developed through NMRFAM's research activities, are made available to the general scientific community. The aim is to develop and disseminate advanced approaches to experimental design and data analysis that cover all steps in a biomolecular NMR investigation, from cloning through data deposition. With the goal of broadening the scope of its scientific activities, NMRFAM will host distinguished visiting scientists, working in areas related to its research technology development projects. As a means for training its user base and for disseminating its novel technology, NMRFAM will conduct semi-annual workshops and group training sessions. Biomolecular NMR spectroscopy is the single approach that offers the most detailed information about biomolecules in solution, the milieu in which they normally function. NMR employs increasingly advanced technology to determine structures and to discover how biological systems work and respond to drugs. Our goal is to develop methods for making these investigations faster and less costly, as well as applicable to larger classes of proteins and nucleic acids of importance in human disease.